Basic Reference

This course is intended for you if you are a staff member working in a small-or medium-sized public library. In this course, you learn how to most effectively and fairly structure your reference service, from answering simple questions to setting library policies. You also discover tips for keeping current and making your reference service visible to patrons.

Topics:

• The reference process, history of reference services, resource sharing
• The reference interview: Approachability formula, interviewing skills, communication
• Collection development material selection; evaluating print, online, and electronic resources
• Searching print and online resources, effective Google searching
• Gaining access: WorldCat, indexes, bibliographies, directories
• General reference materials: encyclopedias, dictionaries, almanacs, handbooks
• Websites and Library 2.0; virtual reference
• Policies, planning, privacy
• Networking and staying current
• Marketing reference services

Expectations:

You are granted access to one assignment each week and expected to complete each within 10 days of the posting of the assignment. You are required to read online material, return written assignments, and complete a course project. Hands-on involvement with a public library is required. E-mail and online discussion is also required.

Textbook:

Ford, Charlotte. Crash Course in Reference. (Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited, 2008).

Your instructor:

Angela Gillis is a librarian for The Boeing Company in Washington. She has worked as a reference librarian at the Sun Prairie (WI) Public Library and as a business librarian at the Seattle (WA) Public Library.

Login information for the course is e-mailed to students a few days before the course begins.

Certification:

This course satisfies a requirement for certification in Wisconsin and Indiana. Check with your state library agency to find out if it satisfies a requirement in your state.

To register:

• ONLINE registration - Fill out a form on the Web, pay by credit card, or have your institution billed
• Print out a registration form and return by fax or mail - instructions on form
• Call the Pyle Center Registration Office: (608) 262-2451